WO2004041590A1

WO2004041590A1 - Warning signs

Info

Publication number: WO2004041590A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/004822
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stuart Joseph Whitmore
Original assignee: Lander Automotive Limited
Priority date: 2002-11-07
Filing date: 2003-11-07
Publication date: 2004-05-21
Also published as: GB0225941D0; EP1558466A1; AU2003279464A1

Abstract

A 'warning triangle' sign comprises a frame (10) having at least two elongate frame elements connected to one another for relative movement between a storage condition in which they lie alongside and generally parallel to one another and a deployed condition in which they lie at an inclination to one another as at least two sides of a triangle; a flexible generally triangular display element (11) including fluorescent and retro-reflective portions connected to at least one of the frame elements and connected or adapted for connection to the or at least one other of said frame elements when deployed to present a generally flat triangular visible surface; and support means (12) for supporting the frame in a substantially upright disposition on the ground.

Description

Title: Warning Signs

Description of Invention

This invention relates to a warning sign of the kind commonly, and herein, referred to as a "warning triangle".

Warning triangles are signs which are carried in motor vehicles for the purpose of being placed in the roadway in an emergency to give warning of a broken down vehicle or other hazard. In the UK, the use of a warning triangle is voluntary, but in many countries the carriage of a warning triangle in a motor vehicle and its use, by placing it in the roadway a certain distance before the vehicle, if it has broken down, is reached by other traffic, is compulsory. The dimensions of a warning triangle, as well as its stability in windy conditions, durability, and visibility, are prescribed by regulations. It is required to include, on its front face which is presented to approaching traffic, a red fluorescent area (which, when excited by daylight, exhibits the phenomenon of photoluminescence), and also a red retro-reflective area (which, when light shines on it, reflects that light back in more or less the opposite direction, within limits determined by regulations). _

The prescribed size of a warning triangle is fairly large, with each of its equilateral sides being some 0.5 metres in length, and its lowest edge when in use should be spaced above the road surface. So that it does hot occupy an undue space in a motor vehicle when it is not in use, known warning triangles are able to be collapsed to a compact configuration for storage and erected for use when required, and one way in which this has most commonly been achieved is by providing individual members which form three edge portions of the triangle and which are pivotally connected together. They can be moved from a triangular disposition to a collapsed disposition in which they lie parallel to one another. Typically the members are injection moulded of a plastics material, and are provided with injection moulded rigid retro-reflective panels and rigid or flexible fluorescent panels. The retro-reflective panels either have a metallised back surface or are sealed to backing plates to prevent the ingress of moisture and dirt which would degrade their reflective properties. Such construction of the members which make up the warning triangle is expensive, and even when in the collapsed condition a substantial volume is still occupied. It is broadly the object of the present invention to provide a warning triangle which is advantageous in terms of its cost of manufacture and the space it occupies when not in use.

According to the present invention, we provide a warning triangle comprising a frame having at least two elongate frame elements connected to one another for relative movement between a storage condition in which they lie alongside and generally parallel to one another and a deployed condition in which they lie at an inclination to one another as at least two sides of a triangle; a flexible generally triangular display element including fluorescent and retro- reflective portions, the display element being connected to at least one of the frame elements and connected or adapted for connection to the or at least one other of said frame elements when deployed to present a generally flat triangular visible surface; and support means for supporting the frame in a substantially upright disposition on the ground. Preferably there are three of the elongate frame elements, which may form a substantially equilateral triangle when in the deployed condition.

Each of the elongate frame elements may comprise a rod or bar, e.g. of metal, and they may be connected to one another by hinge members.

The hinge members conveniently are of plastics material, and may incorporate "living hinge" portions which provide for pivotal movement of the frame elements they connect by deformation of the plastics material from which the hinge elements are made.

There may be a base frame element which, in use, extends generally parallel to the ground on which the warning triangle rests, and two side frame elements which, in use, extend upwardly from opposite ends of the base frame element to at least approach one another and preferably meet at or in the vicinity of the apex of the triangle.

A member at the end of one of the side frame elements, remote from its hinged connection to the base frame element, may be engageable with the other side frame element to hold the frame elements in the fully deployed condition.

In a further embodiment described hereafter, the ends of the two side frame elements remote from their connection to the base frame elements may be joined together, when in the deployed condition, by a connecting member. In this embodiment, the display element may be connected to the base frame element, e.g. by having along an edge portion a formation or formations through which the base frame element extends, and the connecting member may be attached to the apex of the display element so that, when the connecting member joins the ends of the side frame elements, the display element is held in a generally flat condition to the frame.

The support means may comprise a number of legs arranged to extend from the frame to support it in a substantially upright disposition on the ground. The legs may be provided at the ends of the base frame element, and may be pivotally connected to the hinge members at such ends so as to be moveable between storage positions (in which they lie alongside the base frame element) and deployed positions in which they lie at an inclination thereto for supporting the base frame element generally parallel to the ground on which the warning triangle rests and spaced upwardly therefrom.

Preferably there are four legs, of which two are connected to the hinge member at each end of the base frame element.

The display element may be provided with one or more openings therein (as may be permitted by regulations) to permit flow of air through the display element and thereby reduce the wind resistance (and so improve the stability) of the warning triangle. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a first embodiment of warning triangle in accordance with the invention, in a deployed condition; FIGURE 2 is a view as Figure 1, but with a display element of the triangle removed;

FIGURE 3 is a view as Figure 2, but with side frame elements of the frame in a storage condition;

Figure 4 is a view as Figure 3, but additionally with legs of the frame in a storage condition;

FIGURES 5 and 6 illustrate a display element of the warning triangle;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a frame of a further embodiment of warning triangle in accordance with the invention, in a deployed condition;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a connecting member of the triangle of Figure 7;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a hinge member of the triangle;

FIGURES 10 and 11 are perspective views respectively of part of a leg of the triangle, and of a retaining clip element of the triangle; and

FIGURE 12 is a front view of the display element of the triangle. Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, a warning triangle which is shown in its entirety in Figure 1 comprises a frame 10 (Figures 2 to 4) a display element 11 (Figures 5 and 6), and support means 12 (visible in Figures 1 to 4) for supporting the frame in a substantially upright disposition.

The frame 10 comprises a base frame element 15, and two side frame elements 16, 17 which are pivotally connected to the base frame element 15 at opposite ends thereof. The frame elements 15, 16, 17 are each in the form of a rod or bar of metal e.g. steel, and the frame elements 16, 17 are connected to the base frame element 15 by respective hinge members 18, 19 at opposite ends of the element 15. The hinge members 18, 19 are plastics mouldings having socket formations into which the frame elements 15, 16, 17 are press fitted and frictionally retained therein, and incorporate "living hinge" portions 18a, 19a (i.e. parts in which the plastics material is sufficiently thin to enable pivotal movement between the connected frame elements by virtue of the flexibility of the plastics material). The frame element 16 is provided towards its free end, remote from the hinge member 18, with a clip 20 which is of plastics material and has a socket 20a into which the free end of the side frame element 17 is engageable, to hold the frame in the deployed condition in which it is shown in Figure 2 in which the frame elements lie as three sides of a triangle relative to one another.

The pivotal action of the side frame elements 16, 17 allows them to be pivotally moved between the deployed conditions of Figure 2 and a storage condition in which they are depicted in Figures 3 and 4, in which they lie alongside and generally parallel to one another and to the base frame element 15.

The support means 12 comprises four legs which are rods or bars e.g. of metal like the frame elements 15, 16, 17. There are two legs 22 which are pivotally connected to the hinge member 18 at one end ofl-the base frame element 15 and two legs 23 pivotally connected to the hinge member 19 at the other end of the base frame element 15. Each of the four connections may be effected by the provision of a pivot member on the end of the respective leg, engaged with a complementary pivot formation in the hinge member 18 or 19. The pivotal connections of the legs allow them to pivot between a storage ^■ position in which they extend alongside and generally parallel to the base frame element 15, as shown in Figure 4, and a deployed position in which the legs extend outwardly from the ends of the base frame element 15 at an inclination thereto, so that the free ends of the legs lie substantially at the four corners of a rectangle. This enables the warning triangle to stand stably on a ground surface. The display element 11 of the warning triangle comprises firstly a generally triangular element 30 of flexible sheet material e.g. a plastics material such as pvc. Its front surface is the red colour prescribed for warning triangles and has the required fluorescent properties. Along one edge it is provided with a flap 31 of the material, which is folded rearwardly and secured to the reverse side of the display element by stitching and/or welding and/or adhesive, or by any other appropriate technique, along a line 32 so as to define a tubular pocket formation which accommodates the base frame element 15. Along a further side of the element 30 there are provided two further flaps 33, 34 with a space therebetween. These are also folded back and secured to the reverse side of the element 30 and accommodate the side frame element 16 with the clip 20 lying in the space between the flaps 33, 34.

There is a triangular aperture 35 in the centre of the element 30. Along the edges of the element 30 (disregarding the flaps 31, 33, 34), on the front surface of the element 30, there are provided three retro-reflective elements 37, 38, 39. These elements are of a flexible retro-reflective tape of the prescribed red colour, and are secured to the element 30 by adhesive, welding, stitching or any other appropriate method. The ends of the elements 37, 38, 39 are mitred as shown to provide an effectively continuous retro-reflective border on the display element 11. The tape of which the elements 37, 38, 39 is flexible and may be of the type incorporating glass micro-beads to give it its retro-reflective properties. Preferably, however, it is of the type incorporating a transparent front layer and a rear layer provided with a micro- pyramidal surface to impart retro-reflective characteristics. Such a tape, having been cut to the required length, must be sealed against water penetration between its front and rear layers to ensure that its reflective properties are maintained.

The triangle as above described may be carried in a motor vehicle in a storage condition in which its frame elements and legs are folded to the position shown in Figure 4, and the display element in this condition may be wrapped around the frame elements and folded legs. It may be carried in a suitable protective cover. When it is to be used, after having been removed from its cover, the frame elements 16, 17 may be pivoted upwardly to their deployed condition shown in Figure 2 and the free end of the frame element 17 engaged with the clip 20 so that such condition is maintained. The display element, being connected to the frame elements 15, 16 is then held in a substantially flat configuration. The legs 22, 23 may be pivoted to their deployed positions shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the triangle will then stand stably on a ground surface to fulfil its warning function. The ability of a warning triangle to stand stably despite windy conditions is prescribed by regulations. The wind resistance of the display element is of course reduced by the triangular aperture 35 in the centre thereof, and the wind resistance may be reduced still further by the provision of slots 40 in the display element. As illustrated a number of such slots are provided in triangular disposition along the innermost edges of the retro-reflective elements 37, 38, 39. However such slots may not be necessary.

Referring now to Figures 7 to 11 of the drawings, this shows a further embodiment of warning triangle in accordance with the invention and parts corresponding to the parts above described in relation to the first embodiment will be identified as far as possible by the same reference numerals with the addition of 100. Thus the warning triangle comprises a frame 110 comprising a base frame element 115 and side frame elements 116, 117. The base frame element may comprise two metal rods or bars extending alongside one another. The side frame elements 116, 117 are pivotally connected at respective ends of the base frame element 115, by hinge members 118, 119. Two legs 122 are pivotally connected to the hinge member 118 and two legs 123 are pivotally connected to the hinge member 119.

The sign further comprises a display element 111 which is similar to the element 11 in that it is of triangular configuration and of a flexible material, having fluorescent and retro-reflective portions in the same disposition as those of the element 11. However it differs from the element 11 in that it is provided along one edge only with a flap 131 which is folded to the reverse side of the display element to define a tubular pocket for containing the base frame element 115. At its apex opposite the edge having the flap 131, a connecting member 150 of plastics material is secured to the reverse side of the display element, the connecting member 150 being shown in greater detail in Figure 8 of the drawings. It comprises a wall portion 151 which lies against the reverse face of the display element and is secured thereto, with a curved rib 152 along an edge of the wall 151 and leading to socket formation 153, 154 with which the free ends of the side frame elements 117, 116 respectively are engageable. The side frame elements may be press or snap fits into the socket formations 153, 154. When thus engaged, the connecting member holds the side frame elements at about a 60° angle to one another, and the display element 111, being connected between the base frame element 150, connecting member 150, is held in a flat configuration.

Figure 9 shows one of the hinge members 118, 119 in greater detail. It is moulded of a suitable plastics material, and comprises a body 160 with two apertures 161, 162 for receiving, as a push fit, the free ends of two parallel metal rods or bars which constitute the base frame element 115. Above the body 160 there is a portion 163 which is of sufficiently thin cross section to act as a "living hinge" by virtue of the flexibility of the plastics material of which it is made, and a portion 164 with an aperture 165 for receiving the side frame element 116 or 117 as the case may be. Thus the side frame elements are able to pivot between a storage condition in which they lie parallel to one another and to the base frame element 115, and the deployed condition in which they are shown in Figure 7.

Beneath the body 160 there are respective pivot formations 166, 167 with which are engaged pivot members as shown in Figure 10, on the legs 122 or 123. The pivot member 168 has trunnions 169 which engage in receiving formations in the pivot formations 166 or 167, and an aperture 170 in which the leg 122 or 123 is a push fit. Each leg is thus pivotable between a storage condition in which it lies alongside and substantially parallel to the base frame element 115, and the deployed condition as shown in Figure 7 in which it extends downwardly and outwardly from the ends of the base frame element 115 at an inclination thereto. Detent formations of any suitable form, e.g. as shown at 171 are provided for holding the legs in the deployed or storage positions, together with suitable stop formations e.g. as indicated at 172 for limiting the range of pivotal movement of the leg.

Finally, a retaining clip 175, shown in greater detail in Figure 11, is provided approximately midway along the base frame element 115, for constraining the legs when they are in their storage condition. The retaining clip is a moulded plastics component, having a body 176 with a tubular formation 177 in which one of the rods constituting the base frame element 115 is received. An open sided part-tubular formation 178 on the opposite side of the body from the formation 177 receives the other rod of the base frame element 115. Beneath the formations 177, 178 there are respective receiving formations 179, 180 which each receives one of the legs 122 and one of the legs 123, above one another.

When a warning triangle as shown in Figures 7 to 12 is required to be put away after use, the connecting member 150 has to be disengaged from the side frame elements 116, 117, after which the side frame elements can be pivoted downwardly to lie alongside one another and above the base frame element 115. The legs 122, 123 can be pivoted to lie alongside one another and beneath the base frame element 115, the legs being engaged with the retaining clip 175. The display element 111, with the connecting member 150 attached, can then be rolled round the frame elements and leg elements, so that the whole warning triangle adopts a very compact configuration in which it can easily be stored in a motor vehicle. Deployment of the warning triangle is the reverse of the above described procedure for bringing it to its storage condition.

Thus the invention provides a warning triangle which is light in weight, economical in manufacture, and very compact when in its storage configuration.

In the present specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of and "comprising" means "including or consisting of.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. A warning triangle comprising a frame having at least two elongate frame elements connected to one another for relative movement between a storage condition in which they lie alongside and generally parallel to one another and a deployed condition in which they lie at an inclination to one another as at least two sides of a triangle; a flexible generally triangular display element including fluorescent and retro-reflective portions connected to at least one of the frame elements and connected or adapted for connection to the or at least one other of said frame elements when deployed to present a generally flat triangular visible surface; and support means for supporting the frame in a substantially upright disposition on the ground.

2. A warning triangle according to claim 1, wherein there are three of the elongate frame elements.

3. A warning triangle according to claim 2, wherein said elongate frame elements form a substantial equilateral triangle when they are in the deployed condition.

4. A warning triangle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the elongate frame elements comprises a rod or bar.

5. A warning triangle according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising hinge members connecting the frame elements.

6. A warning triangle according to claim 5, wherein the hinge members are of plastics material, and incorporate "living hinge" portions providing for pivotal movement of the frame elements they connect.

7. A warning triangle according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a base frame element which, in use, extends generally parallel to the ground on which the warning triangle rests, and two side frame elements which, in use, extend upwardly from opposite ends of the base frame element to at least approach one another in the vicinity of the apex of the triangle.

8. A warning triangle according to claim 7, wherein a member at or adjacent the end of one of the side frame elements, remote from its connection to the base frame element, is engageable with the other side frame element to hold the frame elements in the fully deployed condition.

9. A warning triangle according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein an edge of the display element is connected to the base frame element and a further edge of the display element is connected to one of the side frame elements.

10. A warning triangle according to claim 7, wherein the ends of the two side frame elements remote from their connection to the base frame element are joined, in the deployed condition, by a connecting member.

11. A warning triangle according to claim 10, wherein an edge of the display element is connected to the base frame element and the connecting member is attached to the apex of the display element.

12. A warning triangle according to claim 11, wherein the edge of the display element has at least one foπnation through which the base frame element extends.

13. A warning triangle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support means comprises legs arranged to extend from the frame to support it in a substantially upright disposition on the ground.

14. A warning triangle according to claim 13, as appendant directly or indirectly to claim 7 wherein the legs are provided at the ends of the base frame element.

15. A warning triangle according to claim 14, as appendant directly or indirectly to claim 5 wherein the legs are pivotally connected to the hinge members at the ends of the base frame element.

16. A warning triangle according to claim 15, wherein the legs are pivotable between storage positions in which they lie alongside the base frame element and deployed positions in which they lie at an inclination thereto.

17. A warning triangle according to claim 16, wherein there are four legs, two connected to the respective hinge member at each end of the base frame-, element.

18. A warning triangle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the display element has one or more openings therein for flow of air therethrough.

19. A warning triangle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as shown in Figures 1 to 6, or Figures 7 to 12, of the accompanying drawings.

20. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.